Sandals Barbados

We arrived on our honeymoon on 30th December, quite late in the evening. The check-in process was effortless and smooth, and we were welcomed with champagne, which was a lovely touch. Our room was a honeymoon suite—spacious, beautiful, and tucked away from the main part of the resort, which we didn’t mind at all. The room appeared to have had a recent lick of paint, which was reassuring as some reviews had described the rooms as tired. That certainly wasn’t our experience. In fact, we saw the block of rooms next to us being renovated during our stay, which is promising and shows that Sandals listens to feedback. We absolutely loved the grounds of the resort. The gardens are beautiful, the landscaping is stunning, and we enjoyed walking through them every morning. We had wonderful interactions with every member of staff. Please take TripAdvisor reviews with a pinch of salt—you're in Barbados to relax and enjoy, not to rush, and that’s exactly the atmosphere the staff embrace. We didn’t mind waiting for a table on the odd occasion, as we weren’t in a hurry. It was refreshing to step away from our usual busy lifestyles and truly unwind. Every member of staff greeted us as we passed and asked how we were. We especially enjoyed chatting with the cameraman—sadly we never caught his name, but he was delightful. The pools are amazing, offering a variety of atmospheres depending on your vibe. Drinks were always delicious and fun, with plenty of cocktails to choose from. There’s often a designated cocktail server who comes around while you’re sunbathing to take your order, which is a lovely touch. As for the food, we can’t complain at all. We loved the variety, especially the sushi, which was amazing. Service was usually very prompt. We adored the coffee shop and visited daily for coffee and ice cream. The entertainment on offer was pretty good and something for everyone! We enjoyed our New Year’s party, beach party, silent disco, the lovely concerts at the main stage and loved the steel drums popping up in different locations throughout the day. I highly recommend exploring the resort on your first day—it’s huge and can feel a little overwhelming at first, but once you find your feet, you’ll be absolutely fine.

We recently stayed at Sandals Barbados from 29th December for 9 nights and wanted to leave an honest review. After reading some negative reviews in the weeks before travelling, we were slightly concerned that we may have made a mistake — we definitely didn’t. We booked a Deluxe Room knowing it was basic and in need of a little TLC in places. However, it was spacious, cleaned daily, and had a very comfortable bed, which was all we needed as we only used the room for sleeping and showering. If you’re someone who plans to spend a lot of time in the room and wants something more luxurious, it would be worth paying extra for an upgrade. The food overall was very good and we managed to eat at most of the restaurants during our stay. Our favourites were Bombay Club for dinner and Neptune’s or The Mariner for lunch. Breakfast was excellent across all the restaurants we tried. We also loved Lovers Lane — the bowling alley was a great addition and a really fun way to spend an evening. The hotel is in a great location, making it easy to get out and explore other parts of the island. We loved the beach and the included watersports, which are a great bonus with the all-inclusive package. The swimming pools were excellent and we enjoyed using different ones across the two hotels. We preferred the quieter pools, but the lively infinity pool on the Royal side was good fun too. The rooftop pool and bar is a fantastic addition, offering great views over the resort and beach. Service was generally very good, although it could be a little slow at times — which didn’t bother us at all as we were on holiday and in no rush. The vast majority of the staff were friendly, welcoming, and fun to be around. I’m not sure why some recent reviews mention rude staff, as around 95% of the team we encountered were excellent. Overall, we had a great holiday and are really glad we didn’t let the negative reviews put us off. We would absolutely love to return one day.

We stayed here during Christmas week. This is our 15th Sandals visit so we are no strangers to the level of service Sandals typically provides. At Sandals Barbados and the Royal side, we were subject to poor service from a couple of the restaurants. For a 5 star resort, the behaviours exhibited by the hostesses were apalling. I wouldn't even expect that level of service and attitude from a fast food restaurant. On one of the occasions at breakfast, a hostess with name starting with K greeted us reluctantly at La Parisienne. I asked how long the wait would be and she said it's a while. I asked how long, she points outside to the bar area and with a nasty tone, "ALLLLL THOSE PEOPLE ARE BEFORE YOU!" Wow. Ok. Thanks? So I asked how many tables, she counts and says 12 in the same tone an walks away to sort cutlery / table cloths. I asked her "excuse me, will you be writing us down for a table?" She comes back reluctantly again, same b1tchy tone, "you're waiting???!!" as if to discourage us from waiting. This was Christmas Day. I didn't come here for vacation and pay Sandals prices to be spoken to like that. She wrote us down but we didn't end up staying as I was quite upset. Same day, but in the evening, we went over to Portofino's for dinner. We were told the wait was about 35 minutes and we were instructed to sit at the Spices bar and we would be called when table is ready. This hostess' name starts with a T. We provided all our information to her and headed to the bar. This resturant does not take reservations so this is on a first come first served basis. 35 minutes passes by and couples that came to the bar after us have all been seated. My husband went to ask the hostess when was our turn, she said soon. He looked at the list of names waiting and noticed that people who were written down after us have already been seated. So we waited longer. By now, 1 hour has elapsed, my husband asked her again, and she said "you're next." 10 minutes after that, the hostess came back and called ANOTHER couple. What happened to "you're next"? Anyway, at that point, it was over and hour, I walked over to ask the waitress what's going on? She then proceeded to blame us and say she called us and we didn't answer. She at no point called us as everyone waiting for Portofino's was sitting at the Spices bar. I saw the list too and 6 couples who came after us were seated. She blatantly skipped us and got upset at me for looking at the list. When seated finally, we were not even offered drinks. What a joke. I've seen many bad reviews about this resort hence our reluctance to visit Sandals Barbados. But since we have tried most of the hotels in this chain, we decided to put all the reviews aside and give it a try. The reviews are pretty accurate. Despite the grounds being beautiful, we will not be returning to this one. The experiences with bad attitude from workers even deterred us from booking our next Sandals stay at the Loyalty Desk. We typically book our next Sandals stay at the end of EVERY visit. This did not happen this time. We did not want to give any business to this location. Upon check out, we waited in the Club Sandals lounge. One of the employees there spoke to us and asked how our stay was. I informed her of the 2 main interactions that upset us and she said she understands and she hears these types of complaints a lot. She said they are trying to work on it and to come back after 2 years and give them another chance. Even the employees have heard these types of complaints so not isolated incidents! Do better Sandals! After 15 stays, this might be the last.

Where do I start?! We are Sandals loyalists and this has been our worst experience thus far. The employees' personalities are great. The quality of their service, not so much. For example, lying poolside, we didn't think it would be a stretch to think that a waitperson would walk by at some point to ask if we would care for a beverage. Well, that never happened. Then we went to the Jerk Hut and the waitress started rattling off items they didn't have (no...they weren't on the menu anyway!), just as we sat down. We waited over an hour at our table at breakfast before the food came. Tables weren't wiped down after they were vacated at one of the bars (not a one-off either). It seems that all of these types of issues are management/training issues and not just poor employee performance. I probably should have started with the room now that I think of it. The smell was HORRIBLE. It was a musty, mildewy, moldy odor. My wife had a headache and it made me cough through the night. We couldn't tolerate it and asked to be moved. 48 hours later, they accommodated us (a little less musty room in the same building). The food was not to the expected standard. Entertainment was almost nonexistent and the overall experience was bad enough for us to decide that we won't be returning to Sandals Barbados.

We spent Xmas at Sandals this year and it was fabulous, the resort is large and caters for everyone. The food and drinks are great quality, especially for an all inclusive. The vibe was perfect, lots going on but plenty of opportunity to have quiet time. Service was good but could be improved, especially in the odd restaurant. I would stay in the Royal next time as our room was very tired, damp and surrounded by mosquitoes. They are doing a revamp which should hopefully fix that problem.. overall a fantastic and enjoyable stay, will definitely return someday